ARBORTECH Ball Gouge | Ø 30 mm Spherical Shaped Wood Gouge Power Carving Attachment for Angle Grinder | BAL.FG.2000

Best tool I own for help carving kitchen utensils and small bowls, it would probably be good for large bowls too, but that is why I have a lathe for. Used it almost every day for a month, so I can't speak to longevity. Doesn't jump like the cheaper balls, It'r not as cheap as those but I have a drawer full I will give you. Just experiment with the angle, and you will fly through soft wood, and move aggressively with hard. Did have to deal with some issues with mesquite, but I got through it.

WORKS GREAT

I bought this gouge to help in the wooden spoon making process and WOW! This thing was out of the box and throwing wood shavings within minutes. Definitely makes the process much easier than a knife. Now, I feel it's a little on the expensive side, but when you have a one of a kind quality product, I guess you can do that. They claim that it doesn't grab, but I did have some slight tugs while carving some curly maple. It could have been the wood, but honestly, it wasn't bad enough to cause me to lose control of what I was doing. Fantastic product!

This tool can make a bunch of wood chips in a hurry. I have used it to make wooden spoon and my first stab at a wood bowl. I used my battery powered angle grinder with the auxiliary handle and was able to control the gouge to make real smooth passes . On the bowl, I made intentional gouge marks both inside and out and am pleased with the results. I just wish I had found this tool years ago.

I came late to wood carving in my 35 years of woodworking. I came even later to grinders and their accessories. I didn't think I had the skill to carve at a level that would not disappoint me and I didn't have the time to learn. Power carving seemed too crude and somehow not the "fine woodworking" I try to do. In the past, I had carved some drawer front fans, Cabriole legs and simple bas reliefs but, apart from the band saw used to rough out the Cabriole legs, all of my carving was done by hand, with gouges and any other hand tool that removed wood with the help of a mallet blow. A few years ago, I was asked to carve a tree into a cabinet door panel, which led to other tree carvings, a squirrel and lately marlins and sea turtles. Carving is a tedious business, at least for me, and after spending what seemed too much time removing material, I started to consider power carving, which led me to buy a Bosch grinder, soon followed by the Arbortech Mini Grinder and some accessories, one of which was the ball gouge. I fell in love with the grinders almost immediately because of what they could do to a piece of wood in so little time. The little wood pellets the grinders produce is significant--the grinders make a huge mess, period--and I'd rather have chips from my gouges to sweep up (at least they don't get in my pockets and hair), but that's the price you pay for rapid material removal. The ball gouge makes its share of litter but it can remove material many times faster than a gouge and is much more versatile. Once you get to the end of the learning curve when using the ball gouge, you'll find that you can control material removal--which is what carving is, basically--better than with a typical gouge, no matter the sharpness of the edge. Which brings me to the only (potential) negative: how long will the cutting edge remain sharp? At just over $100 for the ball gouge, it will be a disappointment if the cutting edge dulls quickly and I have to deal with sharpening it or replacing it. We'll see, but for now I am quite happy with the ball gouge.

I'd never turned on an angle grinder when I bought it, and I found it very easy to use. Any power carving tools are and should be intimidating, but this is definitely a good entry point for beginners. Not a single catch so far, which has given me the space to get comfortable and dial in my technique (such as it is). Don't expect it to be a precision tool, take your time with it, and you'll have a blast, which is the most important thing-- your work will reflect that, too! Enjoy.

It’s sharp. If it gets dull, you can rotate the cutter to reveal a sharp edge again. Reasonably easy to control. A short learning curve. Practice on a piece of scrap wood. Pricier than the copies, but worth it.

Nice little Tool. Takes a little getting used to but does a good job of removing material and shaping wood. It does have some limitations with getting to certain spots at the right angles and can be a bit tricky with wood that is very dry or chips easy. So care needs to be taken when working with elements. Would love to see an adapter or attachment that extends it safely so that you could hollow out deeper areas if necessary. Over all if you like clearing out and shaping wood this is a great tool to have and use once you get used to using it. It is worth the initial cost if you use it even sparingly.

I love my Arbortech tools and this is a great addition to the tool arsenal!! Making awesome planters from driftwood,, My Mamma loves the one I made for her!

Ottimo prodotto per legno

I did a rustic bowl with the ARBORTECH Ball Gouge it taken me 1 hour for a large bowl to take out the wood inside the bowl if I did by hand taken me 5 hours plus if you buy one you will not regret it its well worth the money it will save you time I'm now buying all of the ARBORTECH tool's now I love the ARBORTECH Ball Gouge fantastic piece of equipment for the angle grinder

Amazing 😻

War am Anfang skeptisch ob und wie gut es Funktioniert Preis doch hoch, nach ein paar Stunden arbeiten mit dem Fräser bekommt man es ganz gut hin gleichmäßige und genaue Konturen zu fräsen, etwas Geschick und Gefühl benötigt man aber schon dafür. Qualität Top, Schneide Top (auch nach 5-6h Hartholz Nuss Fräsen noch sehr scharf) Super einfach in der Handhabung, Kann man nur Empfehlen! Tipp einen Besen sollte man gleich mit bestellen.